Subsistence and Seasonality during the Thule Phase (ca. 1000 B.P. to contact era) at Point Spencer, Alaska

Summary

Intensification of marine resource use is well documented over the last 1000 years in northern Alaska, but the role of other resources in the subsistence economy is poorly understood. In order to better understand the full range of subsistence activities, and to reconstruct season of site occupation, we undertook analysis of faunal materials from several Thule Phase sites located on Point Spencer, Alaska. The subsistence remains from a large site near the tip of the peninsula (TEL-8) were found to be dominated by sea mammals, primarily ringed seals (Pusa hispida), with bird remains dominated by eiders (Somateria spp.) and other seaducks and mergansers. By contrast, least auklets (Aethia pusilla) dominated the bird fauna of the other sites along the peninsula, and fewer sea mammal remains were identified. These sites also contain large quantities of fish bone, in contrast to TEL-8 site where fish bones were extremely rare. The variety in faunal remains suggest that this region was an important subsistence gathering location across multiple seasons and that local diet was relatively diverse. These results contribute new data to a limited but growing body of research on diet and subsistence activities in Arctic hunter-gatherer groups over the last 1000 years.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16632